Of course, they fled to Israel...

This shows how unstable this border crossing really is.

European monitors said they were reopening the Rafah border crossing Friday afternoon, hours after a group of angry Palestinian police forced them to close the border and flee.

Julio De La Guardia, spokesman for the European monitors, said the situation at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing was under control and the border would be opened for two hours. It was to reopen at 3:15 p.m.

Palestinian policemen angry over the killing of a fellow police officer stormed the Gaza-Egypt crossing Friday, firing in the air and forcing European monitors to close the border and flee, Palestinian and European officials said.

About 100 policemen entered the Rafah compound and took up positions alongside border patrol officers at the customs section of the crossing, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.

The European observers - responsible for monitoring the crossing and ensuring the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are upheld - fled to an IDF base near the Gaza-Israel border, fearing the situation was spinning out of control, the officials said.

The takeover is the latest in a rash of armed kidnappings and takeovers of government buildings that underscore the lawlessness in Gaza and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' inability to bring order to the coastal area following this summer's pullout.